Texas Hustle (28 page)

It took the sheriff’s department a few days, but Deputy Brody found the fleabag hotel where Slade had been holed up when the hotel’s owner called to complain about a gas smell. Concerned about the odor, the gas company was notified.

In the area on patrol, Brody met the gas company representative at the Stay-N-Play motel outside of town. The scent was traced to room five, which was in the back and on the end of the hotel. Inside, Slade’s limited personal belongings were in the closet, along with two thousand in cash, ten watches, a dozen cocktail rings and a few gold necklaces. In the bathtub were four cans of gasoline.

With Mallory James’s testimony and the physical evidence in the room, the sheriff’s department and the Texas State Fire Marshal’s office closed the case with the finding that Slade Madden had acted alone in the burglary and arson of Heavenly Delights and Randall Jewels and Keepsakes.

Closing the case did not mean slowing the gossip around Whispering Springs. Porchia felt every eye on her no matter where she went. Whispers followed her through stores.

Behind her back, a small group of townspeople who didn’t really know her speculated that somehow she must have been in league with Slade Madden. She had even heard that she had probably killed Slade on purpose to keep him quiet about their dealings. She didn’t try to defend or explain. That would have been a waste of her breath and her time. People would believe what they wanted to believe.

Close friends and those who knew her understood that all the gossip was just that…untrue rumors spread by nosey folks with too much time on their hands, who believed putting another person down would somehow make them look bigger. That never worked, but mean-spirited gossipers never learned.

For Porchia, the weeks that followed the fire were as if she were reliving her life from all those years ago. It had hurt then to be the subject of rumors and innuendos. It hurt now. Time didn’t change that.

Meetings with her insurance adjuster and a couple of contractors confirmed what she had feared since the night of the fire. The bakery was beyond repair. The most cost-efficient option was to demolish the damage and rebuild from the ground up. Porchia just wasn’t sure she had the fortitude to go through the months and months required to start again.

Porchia told her employees that they needed to find other jobs. Insurance would pay on her fire claim, but cutting a check of that size took time.

She abandoned the idea of baking from her home and spent days getting all her brides rescheduled with other bakeries, mostly in and around Dallas. Her personal kitchen simply didn’t have the equipment required to produce professional cakes. Once that decision was made and all the cakes had been farmed out, she found herself with too much time on her hands and a mind with nothing to concentrate on except how much she had screwed up her life.

Through it all, Darren stood by her. He made her go out to dinner when she might have stayed hidden in her house. He dragged her to Leo’s for drinks with the gang and out to his house for horseback rides.

And every time they made love, he made her feel like a princess. The very last thing she wanted to do was hurt him in any way. However, one idea circled through over and over. Maybe her staying in Whispering Springs and trying to rebuild after someone from her past had brought so much trouble to town wasn’t the best idea. She had started over in a new, unfamiliar place before. She could do it again, but moving away from a man she loved would be heartbreaking.

As October rolled into November, the days got shorter and the weather got cooler, but she found no answers to all her questions about her future. However, some good did come from those idle weeks. She spoke with her parents more regularly than she had in years.

The initial call to tell them what had happened had been nerve racking. They, of course, had been shocked and scandalized to hear their only child was once again involved in the death of another individual. And while they said all the right words about her losing the bakery, Porchia felt an undercurrent of relief from them, as though they were glad that period of her life was over. When her mother asked her to come home—
home
—for Thanksgiving, Porchia had cried. It’d been the first time in years her parents had indicated they would like to have her back in Atlanta on a more permanent basis. Could she go home again?

Camping with the Montgomery clan had crystalized for her that she wanted a family-centered life. Witnessing the love and interaction among Montgomery family members had brought her an appreciation for family, and in turn, her parents. Sure, they had been hard on her when she’d screwed up, but she had been the one to disappoint them. Could she repair the fence between them?

On days when she and Darren didn’t see each other, they spoke by phone, long, drawn-out conversations about anything and everything. Porchia had always known that ranching was a dirty, exhausting job, but seeing it in action when she visited the D&R gave her a greater appreciation for Darren’s life. She didn’t visit the ranch as much as she could have—after all, time on her hands was ample. But the ranch house was small, and with newlyweds Reno and Magda living there, she felt her presence to be an imposition, regardless of what Darren, Reno and Magda said.

It was about ten days before Thanksgiving when Darren picked her up for dinner. He chose a small, intimate steakhouse in Tyler, a little over an hour away. Bad of her she knew, but she couldn’t help but wonder if their numerous dates lately to other towns besides Whispering Springs were because he was tired of all the nasty gossip about her.

The restaurant was located in an old building that had once been a county jail. The cells were still in place, albeit now divided to make single-table, private dining areas.

As they were shown to one of the private dining tables, Porchia said, “I have always wanted to come here. I’ve heard about it forever.”

Darren pulled out her chair and she sat. How chivalrous. Something about a guy holding out a chair for her made all her femaleness stretch and preen.

“I’ve only been here once,” he said. “The steaks were juicy and the beer was cold. I was a happy camper.”

She laughed. “A perfect combo.”

After they ordered, he brought up Thanksgiving. “The family is getting together at the Bar M ranch. Everyone will be there.” He grinned. “It was crowded before all the spouses and children. It’ll be positively nuts this year. You’re gonna love it. Mom and Dad will be glad to see you.”

Her stomach roiled. She had to tell him about Thanksgiving in Atlanta. But every time she looked at him, her heart sighed and rolled over like a puppy demanding a tummy rub. She was head-over-heels in love with this man. She hadn’t told him as she hadn’t decided exactly what she was going to do about the realization.

“You got quiet,” he said, taking her hand. “You know my family loves you. You have to know I love you.”

Her lungs seized, making breathing almost impossible. Forcing in a gulp of air, she said, “I…” She hesitated.

He squeezed her hand. “It’s okay. You don’t have to love me back, but you will. I’ll do anything and everything to win your heart.”

“Oh, Darren.” She touched his cheek. “You are so dear to me. Your family has been beyond wonderful and welcoming. I love them so much.”

He winced and then kissed her palm. “Great. Then you’ll spend Thanksgiving with us.”

Tears formed in her eyes. She hated that crying was her response to every strong emotion, be it anger or happiness. Right now, she was a jumble of conflicting emotions.

“I do love you, Darren. You are the man every little girl dreams of falling in love with.”

He grew serious. “I hear a
but
at the end of your sentence.”

Darren didn’t even comment on her saying she loved him. Damn man knew her simply too well. He heard the hesitation in her voice.

She pulled her hand free from his to use her napkin to dab at her eyes. Damn make-up. “Being with your family has made me realize how much I miss my own. I have been apart from my parents for more than half my lifetime. I want to see if I can have the type of relationship with them that you do with your parents.”

He nodded, “I can understand that.”

“What I’m trying to say is that I’m going back to Atlanta.”

He sat back in his chair, the surprise evident in his expression. “When? And for how long?”

“Soon. My flight leaves on Tuesday.”

“When will you be back?”

“I don’t know. I honestly don’t. I know I’ll be there for Thanksgiving. And if we can repair the damage, well, I just don’t know. I didn’t realize how much I missed having my mom and dad in my life until I met yours.”

With the impeccable timing of every waiter in the world, theirs chose that moment to deliver their sizzling steaks. What looked delicious was tasteless for Porchia. She might as well have been chewing rubber.

Darren changed the subject to a new horse he was looking at. Relieved at the reprieve, she grabbed the lifeline he had tossed and they talked horses the rest of the meal. As he paid the check, she dreaded the drive home. His entire demeanor had flipped like a light switch as soon as she’d mentioned going to Atlanta.

“Darren,” she said as he pulled from the drive. “Talk to me.”

“We’ve been talking all night.”

She sighed. “You’re upset with me.”

He glanced toward her, his lips forming a tense line across his mouth. “How am I supposed to feel? One minute you tell me that you love me, and with the next sentence, you blast my high like a skeet pigeon.”

“I didn’t mean… I’m sorry, but I have to try to put my family back together. I busted it apart. It’s my job to fix it.”

“Bullshit.”

The animosity in his voice hit like a tidal wave.

“What did you say?”

“I said bullshit. You were a child. You made a mistake. Hell, all kids do. That’s how we learn. You think I didn’t fuck up a million times growing up? Reno? KC? You think Clint and Nadine only loved us and kept us safe because we were perfect?” He laughed, but it lacked any humor. “Your parents have done a total mind fuck on you. Every teenager makes horrible decisions. That’s what those years are for. Your parents were the adults. If your family disintegrated, it was their fault, not yours.”

Hot anger flared inside her. “How dare you talk about my parents like that? You don’t know them. You don’t understand how much pressure my father is under. You can’t understand how important his career is. Paul Randolph is a prominent member of Atlanta society. He makes life and death decisions every day.”

Confusion furrowed his brow. “Randolph? You have a different last name from your father?”

“And my mother. I brought so much shame to the Randolph name. Taking my mother’s maiden name was the least I could do.”

“And they let you?” He scoffed. “Your folks are not only idiots, they’re bad parents.”

Her back stiffened. “How dare you?”

“How dare
they
let a kid carry such guilt for all these years? How dare they let their only child change her last name because they were embarrassed? Mom and Dad would take turns kicking our asses if any of their kids had tried to dump the Montgomery name.”

She turned to stare out the windshield. “I’m done talking about this.”

“What if I’m not?”

She shot him her best glare. “Then talk to yourself and leave me the fuck out of it.”

When he pulled up to her house after an interminable drive, she opened her door. “Don’t get out. I can see myself in.” She slid out and slammed the door.

“Porchia. Wait.”

She turned. He was standing inside the driver’s open door talking over the top of his truck.

“Remember this…I love you. I will always take your side over the world’s, even if the world happens to be the two people who gave you life. But that doesn’t mean I’ll wait for you forever. It’s your decision to make.”

He got back into the truck and drove away.

Tuesday morning, Porchia boarded her flight, not having heard from Darren since their date. It pained her to leave things so unsettled with him. She had called the house last night but Magda had said the guys were still in the field. There was something in Magda’s voice that suggested the story was total BS. She wasn’t sure if Magda was protecting her new brother-in-law by her own accord, or if Darren had been standing next to Magda the whole time they’d been on the phone. She’d never know for sure, but what she did know was that he hadn’t returned her call.

It was raining cats and dogs when she landed at Atlanta International Airport. When she got to the baggage claim area, a chauffeur was holding up a sign with her name, or rather Katherine P.S. Randolph on it.

“I’m Katherine Randolph.” The name sounded foreign on her tongue.

“Yes, ma’am. Your mother had a lunch engagement and could not come. I’m Jimmy North. I work for your parents.”

Her first thought was, “Home, James!” but concerned he would think she was making fun of his name, she kept the joke to herself. Embarrassing her parents with stupid comments would not get this visit off on the correct foot.

They pulled through the elaborate iron gates that protected her parents from the hoi polloi, even from those within their own Buckhead neighborhood. Jimmy followed the drive up and around the massive fountain to stop the Mercedes at the front door.